typesense

i can't update an existing collection schema with non optional fields without first populating those fields, correct?

You mean you want to add a non-optional field but some of the documents on-disk don't have that field set yet?

would it be ok to add it as optional, so i can ensure the type is what i want it to be, then populate it, then drop it and re-add it as non optional?

Error: t: Request failed with HTTP code 400 | Server said: Field `lines` has been declared in the schema, but is not found in the documents already present in the collection. If you still want to add this field, set it as `optional: true`.

rats, thought I added it everywhere. if I recall, there currently is still no way to filter by a missing field, is there?

No that's not possible. You have to export and check.